


Reflection

by DrimmsyDra



Series: Scrapbook [3]
Category: The A-Team (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Nightmare, Reflection, mirror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28941699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrimmsyDra/pseuds/DrimmsyDra
Summary: Murdock had a nightmare and he needs to make sure that it was just a bad dream. He needs to know that Face is still with them and hasn't disappeared somewhere in a different world.
Series: Scrapbook [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116377
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> The third prompt of Inktober52-2021 was "REFLECTION."

"Face?"

There was a soft knock on the door along with a muffled voice. Before he could react, the voice came again, this time clearer and closer.

"Face?"

"Uhmhm?" That was all he could get out of his mouth. His brain hadn't really started working yet. He reached out and with a soft "click" turned the dark room light. Even although he was expecting it, he hissed as the sharp shafts from the table lamp cut into his eyes. He squinted in the direction he sensed his visitor.

And there he was; across the room, Murdock stood uncertainly at the door, squirming restlessly. His hair was a mess, his pajamas which looked a size too large, hung on him, the top two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned so that his hairy chest peeked out.

"What's up, Murdock?"

"I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare, huh?"

The wheels in Face's head finally began to spin. It couldn't be a dream about Vietnam. The whole house would be up in that case because Murdock would be screaming and fighting with his own bed or with anyone who would be stupid or brave enough to try to wake him. They had a lot of experience in that area. And not just thanks to Murdock. They all had nightmares. Although none of them experienced them in such an extreme way. Face screamed in his sleep occasionally, but only for the first year after returning to the States. Later, he was able to handle his nightmares without waking the others. He was glad about that. He hated it when he looked so scared and defenseless. When he looked exactly the way he felt.

Hannibal and BA never screamed. BA just smashed anything around him and Hannibal… Face didn't really know if Hannibal had nightmares. He had found the Colonel smoking a cigar in the kitchen in the middle of the night a few times, so he guessed that Hannibal had been involuntarily pulled out of bed by his own mind. But who could say for sure?

But Murdock always screamed. For the pilot, the first year after his return had never ended. Which was why he was locked in the VA most of the time. But there had been no screams tonight. No shouts in Vietnamese shooting through Face's mind like hot bullets. No fight. The pilot wasn't even shaking. At least not in a way that was visible from this distance. He just looked nervous and concerned.

Face glanced at the clock radio on the bedside table. 2:16. He considered sending Murdock back to his bed, but immediately dropped that idea. It would never work for their pilot. He ran his hand over his face with a soft sigh and then looked back at Murdock.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Instead of answering, Murdock walked over to the armchair standing beside the bookshelf, pushed it closer to Face's bed, and nestled in its arms. Taking a deep breath, the pilot placed his head on the backrest with his eyes closed. He slowly began to speak, his Texas accent stronger than normal.

"We were back in that mirror maze you took me to yesterday. But this time we were completely alone there, no people around. And it was fun, just like yesterday. Maybe more without all those kids 'cause I could run among the mirrors with no fear of bumping into someone. But then we got into a weird room." Murdock paused and opened his eyes, looking at his friend. Face just raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I don't remember seeing this room there. It was kinda big, but there was only one mirror right in the middle. The room was dark; only the mirror was lit up. It was as if it had its own light. But there could have been some tiny spotlights somewhere around it. Can't say that for sure. But I can say that I didn't like it there. It was kinda scary, ya know. Gave me goosebumps. Like when you sense some danger you can't see. I wanted to leave that place but you decided to go to look in the mirror. And you… you looked like you were sleepwalking, drawn to that thing by some magical force. I tried to talk to you but you didn't answer. I called your name but you went on until you stood in front of the mirror. And at that moment, it started to be really scary." Murdock paused again. Face, who was listening to him with some amusement as if Murdock were telling a spooky bedtime story, waited a moment before asking.

"What did we see there?"

"You," Murdock replied quietly. "But you weren't you."

"Huh? Who was I when I wasn't me?"

"Well... you were you. But... you - I mean the real you - were wearing a suit. That dark gray one I accidentally stuck my lollipop on." Face growled at the memory. He really hadn't been happy about walking around with a red lollipop stuck to his back for a few minutes without noticing it. However, Murdock continued to talk undisturbed. "But you, the one inside the mirror, had some kind of brown uniform. And longer hair. And the light came from a different angle there. And… uhmm… Now that I think about it, everything looked slightly wrong, as if it wasn't your reflection at all. So it wasn't you. But that Face followed all your movements; your breathing, tilting his head exactly as you did, so he was you... and you both stared at each other. As if the other one could see you too from his world behind the mirror."

"Murdock, did you read Alice Through the Looking-Glass again? Don't you remember you had some bad dreams after reading that book?"

"No! This is different."

"Okay, go on. What happened next? Who was the guy in the mirror?"

"I told ya it was you. But a different you."

Face nodded understandingly, though he couldn't say he really understood. But that was okay. He was used to the fact that things were confusing around Murdock.

"You both kept staring at each other. And I kept trying to talk to you but you didn't listen. I don't think you even heard me. You definitely didn't see me 'cause I could almost touch the connection between you and that Mirror Face. I grabbed your shoulder to pull you away, but you shook me off and leaned even closer to that mirror, and that other Face leaned closer too, and there were suddenly cracks on the mirror. I was pretty scared, knowing that we should leave, so I yelled at you. I grabbed your hand and started pulling you but you pushed me away and I fell down and couldn't move anymore…" Murdock's voice was getting louder and the flood of words accelerated, but suddenly his voice faded.

Face realized that Murdock had his undivided attention now. He was gazing at the pilot, eagerly listening to his story. It was finally starting to sound like a nightmare. At least from Murdock's point of view. Face was just curious. _What would it be like to look in the mirror and see myself, but not exactly my self but still myself?_

"And?" Face asked to get Murdock to talk again.

The pilot stared at an empty spot on the floor for a moment, his look distant, lost in a dreadful memory. Then he blinked and the terror reflected in his expression.

"You raised your hand to touch your weird reflection. Everything slowed down and I watched your fingers slowly approach the surface of the mirror. Very slowly. Like underwater, ya know. I wanted to shout at you, wanted to scream, but my throat was dry and I couldn't make a sound. I wanted to get up, crawl up to you if it weren't possible to walk, but I was nailed to the ground. I could really only just watch your hand moving so damned slowly that I could have grabbed you and got you out of there five more times, if only I could have moved. That Mirror Face - and I knew at the time that he wasn't Face… uh… that he wasn't you, that he was someone completely different - he raised his hand, too, and both of your hands came close to each other and… and when your fingers touched, the mirror cracked and there was a bright, dazzling light coming out of it. I couldn't see anything for a few seconds, dazzled by the light. Then I tried to focus on where you were standing, but… I saw nothing."

"Did you get blinded?" Face asked.

"No. I wish I had. You weren't there. I… I finally managed to move; got up and stumbled toward the mirror. It was matt and dark, looking like a very old mirror. I could barely see my own reflection. But at least it was my reflection. My real self. I stepped closer, looking for the cracks that had appeared on the surface before, but there were none. It didn't make sense so I leaned closer… and closer… a faint light flickered inside the mirror. And I saw your face somewhere behind me… as if you had emerged from the dark. You looked so desperate, so lost, frightened… I thought you were standing behind me and turned quickly to see you. But I saw… I saw…" Murdock's voice trailed off.

Face saw the pilot's chest rise and fall too fast, too shallow. The big brown eyes were closed, long fingers clenched in the armrests.

"What did you see?" he asked, quietly so as not to startle Murdock.

"Dunno." Very quiet answer. Then Murdock took a shaky breath and opened his eyes. "I don't remember. I woke up at that moment. But it must have been something terrifying 'cause I heard my heart beating in my chest and also in my head and I couldn't move for a while. I was paralyzed just like in that dream and it scared me even more. Then… then I slowly realized it was just a dream. But… I had to see you. I needed to know you were really here and hadn't disappeared inside a mirror. You're here, right?"

"I think I am, Murdock," Face said, understanding and sympathy evident in his voice.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Good." Murdock nodded, his breathing seemingly calmer, his body more relaxed. Still, those big eyes fixed on Face with the power of a puppy begging for a caress. "Can I sleep here with you?"

"What? You mean in my bed?"

"Not necessarily," Murdock shook his disheveled head quickly. "I can stay here in the armchair. Just lemme sleep here, please."

"Murdock, you can't sleep in an armchair."

"Why not?"

Face looked over the pilot's lanky figure. He imagined the Texan trying to cram his long legs into such a limited space, curled into a ball between high armrests. No, he couldn't let him sleep there. But he couldn't send him back to his bedroom in this state, either.

Face sighed softly, moved to one side of the bed and patted the empty mattress next to him. "Come on then. But stay on your side. And don't steal my blanket."

Murdock slid happily out of the armchair and moved to Face's bed in one smooth motion. As he settled on his part of the bed, Face reached out and turned off the light.

"You should stop reading fantasy for a while, Murdock," he said into the dark, amused. "Maybe I could buy you a travelog, what do you think?"

"Traveling through Central America and discovering the secret of the Mayan pyramids? Or searching for Bigfoot? Or something about visiting Scotland and Loch Ness?" Too much enthusiasm in those questions for Face's taste.

"Maybe I'll get you the yellow pages. That should be safe reading." Murdock chuckled beside him. "Sleep now. Hannibal wants us up early."

"Face?"

"Hmm?"

"You've never traveled in space, have you?"

"Sleep, Murdock."

"Goodnight, Face."

"Goodnight, buddy. 

THE END


End file.
